bims-chumac Biomed News
on Context effects on human mate choice
Issue of 2021–03–21
nine papers selected by
Thomas Krichel, Open Library Society
  1. MHC Class II Heterozygosity Associated With Attractiveness of Men and Women.
  2. How and why patterns of sexual dimorphism in human faces vary across the world.
  3. Perceived partner sexual responsiveness buffers anxiously attached individuals' relationship and sexual quality in daily life.
  4. Perceived partner responsiveness is associated with sexual well-being in couples with genito-pelvic pain.
  5. The dissociable influence of social context on judgements of facial attractiveness and trustworthiness.
  6. How Couple's Relationship Lasts Over Time? A Model for Marital Satisfaction.
  7. Neural processing of the physical attractiveness stereotype: Ugliness is bad vs. beauty is good.
  8. Perceived Partner Responsiveness Forecasts Behavioral Intimacy as Measured by Affectionate Touch.
  9. Abusive Sexting in Adolescence: Prevalence and Characteristics of Abusers and Victims.
  1. Evol Psychol. 2021 Jan-Mar;19(1):19(1): 1474704921991994
    MHC Class II Heterozygosity Associated With Attractiveness of Men and Women.
    Terhi J Hakkarainen, Indrikis Krams, Vinet Coetzee, Ilona Skrinda, Sanita Kecko, Tatjana Krama, Jorma Ilonen, Markus J Rantala.
      The genes of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC), which plays a fundamental role in the immune system, are some of the most diverse genes in vertebrates and have been connected to mate choice in several species, including humans. While studies suggest a positive relationship between MHC diversity and male facial attractiveness, the connection of MHC diversity to other visual traits and female attractiveness is still unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate further whether MHC heterozygosity, indicating genetic quality, is associated with visual traits affecting mate preferences in humans. In total 74 Latvian men and 49 women were genotyped for several MHC loci and rated for facial and, in men, also body attractiveness. The results indicate a preference for MHC heterozygous female and male faces. However, the initially positive relationship between MHC heterozygosity and facial attractiveness becomes non-significant in females, when controlling for multiple testing, and in males, when age and fat content is taken into account, referring to the importance of adiposity in immune function and thus also attractiveness. Thus overall the effect of MHC heterozygosity on attractiveness seems weak. When considering separate loci, we show that the main gene related to facial attractiveness is the MHC class II DQB1; a gene important also in viral infections and autoimmune diseases. Indeed, in our study, heterozygous individuals are rated significantly more attractive than their homozygous counterparts, only in relation to gene DQB1. This study is the first to indicate a link between DQB1 and attractiveness in humans.
    Keywords:  adiposity; attractiveness; heterozygosity; human leucocyte antigen; human mate choice; major histocompatibility complex
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1177/1474704921991994
  2. Sci Rep. 2021 Mar 16. 11(1): 5978
    How and why patterns of sexual dimorphism in human faces vary across the world.
    Karel Kleisner, Petr Tureček, S Craig Roberts, Jan Havlíček, Jaroslava Varella Valentova, Robert Mbe Akoko, Juan David Leongómez, Silviu Apostol, Marco A C Varella, S Adil Saribay.
      Sexual selection, including mate choice and intrasexual competition, is responsible for the evolution of some of the most elaborated and sexually dimorphic traits in animals. Although there is sexual dimorphism in the shape of human faces, it is not clear whether this is similarly due to mate choice, or whether mate choice affects only part of the facial shape difference between men and women. Here we explore these questions by investigating patterns of both facial shape and facial preference across a diverse set of human populations. We find evidence that human populations vary substantially and unexpectedly in both the magnitude and direction of facial sexually dimorphic traits. In particular, European and South American populations display larger levels of facial sexual dimorphism than African populations. Neither cross-cultural differences in facial shape variation, sex differences in body height, nor differing preferences for facial femininity and masculinity across countries, explain the observed patterns of facial dimorphism. Altogether, the association between sexual shape dimorphism and attractiveness is moderate for women and weak (or absent) for men. Analysis that distinguishes between allometric and non-allometric components reveals that non-allometric facial dimorphism is preferred in women's faces but not in faces of men. This might be due to different regimes of ongoing sexual selection acting on men, such as stronger intersexual selection for body height and more intense intrasexual physical competition, compared with women.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-85402-3
  3. J Fam Psychol. 2021 Mar 18.
    Perceived partner sexual responsiveness buffers anxiously attached individuals' relationship and sexual quality in daily life.
    Stephanie Raposo, Amy Muise.
      Satisfying relationships are central to health and well-being, yet the insecurities of anxiously attached people can detract from the quality of their romantic relationships. One factor associated with relationship quality is perceiving a partner as responsive to one's needs, and responsiveness to a partner's sexual needs might be a particularly powerful way to signal responsiveness to anxiously attached partners. In a 21-day daily experience and longitudinal study of 121 couples, we tested perceived partner sexual responsiveness as a buffer against the lower relationship quality (satisfaction, commitment, trust) and sexual satisfaction that anxiously attached people typically experience. On days when anxiously attached people perceived their partner as responsive to their sexual needs, they reported similar levels of relationship and sexual satisfaction, trust, and commitment as people lower in anxiety. Perceived partner sexual responsiveness was also important for maintaining commitment over time. Our findings suggest that perceived partner sexual responsiveness is one promising protective factor for anxiously attached partners. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000823
  4. J Fam Psychol. 2021 Mar 18.
    Perceived partner responsiveness is associated with sexual well-being in couples with genito-pelvic pain.
    Sophie Bergeron, Myriam Pâquet, Marc Steben, Natalie O Rosen.
      Intimacy is vital to romantic relationships, yet is often thwarted by relational challenges, such as sexual difficulties. With prevalence estimates ranging from 10% to 28%, genito-pelvic pain/penetration disorder (GPPPD) is an important sexual problem resulting in negative consequences for affected women and their partners, including significant sexual dysfunction and dissatisfaction. Findings from cross-sectional studies indicate that higher levels of intimacy are associated with better sexuality outcomes in couples coping with GPPPD. However, single-occasion measurements may not capture the daily variations in intimacy that could have important implications for couples' sexual well-being. The present study focused on a key intimacy-building component-perceived partner responsiveness (PPR)-and its daily associations with women's pain and both partners' sexual function and satisfaction. Using daily diaries over an 8-week period, 160 women (Mage = 26.23, SD = 6.26) with GPPPD and their partners (Mage = 27.73, SD = 7.35) reported on PPR, sexual function and satisfaction, as well as women's pain, on days when sexual activity occurred (M = 8.87, SD = 5.87). Drawing on the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model, a multivariate multilevel modeling approach was adopted. Controlling for trait-level PPR, when women and partners reported greater PPR, women reported greater sexual function and satisfaction and partners reported greater sexual function. When partners reported greater PPR, they reported greater sexual satisfaction. No association was found between PPR and women's pain. PPR may facilitate better sexual function and satisfaction and could be an important target in sex and couple therapy for GPPPD. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000829
  5. Br J Psychol. 2021 Mar 19.
    The dissociable influence of social context on judgements of facial attractiveness and trustworthiness.
    Daniel J Carragher, Nicole A Thomas, Michael E R Nicholls.
      The cheerleader effect occurs when the same face is rated to be more attractive when it is seen in a group compared to when seen alone. We investigated whether this phenomenon also occurs for trustworthiness judgements, and examined how these effects are influenced by the characteristics of the individual being evaluated and those of the group they are seen in. Across three experiments, we reliably replicated the cheerleader effect. Most faces became more attractive in a group. Yet, the size of the cheerleader effect that each face experienced was not related to its own attractiveness, nor to the attractiveness of the group or the group's digitally averaged face. We discuss the implications of our findings for the hierarchical encoding and contrast mechanisms that have previously been used to explain the cheerleader effect. Surprisingly, judgements of facial trustworthiness did not experience a 'cheerleader effect'. Instead, we found that untrustworthy faces became significantly more trustworthy in all groups, while there was no change for faces that were already trustworthy alone. Taken together, our results demonstrate that social context can have a dissociable influence on our first impressions, depending on the trait being evaluated.
    Keywords:  contrast effect; hierarchical encoding; social inference; social perception; the cheerleader effect
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12501
  6. Psychol Rep. 2021 Mar 18. 332941211000651
    How Couple's Relationship Lasts Over Time? A Model for Marital Satisfaction.
    José Abreu-Afonso, Maria Meireles Ramos, Inês Queiroz-Garcia, Isabel Leal.
      High rates of divorce seem related to low marital satisfaction levels; however, there is still a lack of a model that can help understand the couple's resilience and fragility throughout the life cycle. This research explores the role of communication patterns, their own and partner's motivation for conjugality, cohesion and flexibility within a couple, and several sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., stage of the family life cycle) that can explain marital satisfaction. A sample of 331 Portuguese in a marital relationship completed a sociodemographic questionnaire and marital satisfaction measures, communication and conflict management competencies, cohesion and flexibility, and motivation. Adequate statistical analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling. Both measurement and structural model performed in the study presented a good fit, with five significant predictors of marital satisfaction (that accounted for 85% of the variability): intrinsic motivation (β = .64), communication (β = .31), families with young children (β = -.08), families with teenagers (β = -.07) and professional/academic status (β = .06). By identifying a model for marital satisfaction, this research provides clues regarding which aspects might need to be considered in couples' clinical work to promote healthier relationships.
    Keywords:  Marital satisfaction; couples; predictors; structural equation modeling
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941211000651
  7. Neuropsychologia. 2021 Mar 10. pii: S0028-3932(21)00075-0. [Epub ahead of print]155 107824
    Neural processing of the physical attractiveness stereotype: Ugliness is bad vs. beauty is good.
    Mengxue Lan, Maoying Peng, Xiaolin Zhao, Huixiang Li, Juan Yang.
      The physical attractiveness stereotype (PAS) is characterized by the belief that beauty is good and ugliness is bad. Although the belief is not encouraged, people still express "beauty is good" explicitly. However, expressing that ugliness is bad is considered impolite in public. In this study, the neural underpinnings of PAS were investigated, particularly the comparison of the neural processing of ugliness is bad and beauty is good. During functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning, participants were asked to create trait-conformity judgments based on the facial attractiveness of the images. Our results showed that brain areas, including the fusiform, thalamus, anterior insula (AI), precuneus, inferior temporal gyrus, dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), and dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) were involved in the processing of PAS. The left AI, left dlPFC, and right dmPFC showed stronger activation for ugliness is bad than for the converse. Moreover, we found a stronger connectivity between the left dlPFC and AI in terms of ugliness is bad than in the converse. Our study suggests that participants were unwilling to express the stereotype of ugliness is bad, and more mental resources were needed to control its expression than the expression of beauty is good.
    Keywords:  Dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC); Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI); Insula; Physical attractive stereotype (PAS)
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107824
  8. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2021 Mar 19. 146167221993349
    Perceived Partner Responsiveness Forecasts Behavioral Intimacy as Measured by Affectionate Touch.
    Tatum A Jolink, Yen-Ping Chang, Sara B Algoe.
      Affectionate touch is an important behavior in close relationships throughout the lifespan. Research has investigated the relational and individual psychological and physical benefits of affectionate touch, but the situational factors that give rise to it have been overlooked. Theorizing from the interpersonal process model of intimacy, the current studies tested whether perceived partner responsiveness forecasts affectionate touch in romantic couples. Following a preliminary integrative data analysis (N = 842), three prospective studies use ecologically valid behavioral (Studies 1 and 2) and daily (Studies 2 and 3) data, showing a positive association between perceived partner responsiveness and affectionate touch. Furthermore, in Study 3, we tested a theoretical extension of the interpersonal process of intimacy, finding that affectionate touch forecasts the partner's perception of the touch-giver's responsiveness the next day. Findings suggest affectionate touch may be an untested mechanism at the heart of the interpersonal process of intimacy.
    Keywords:  affectionate touch; close relationships; intimacy; perceived partner responsiveness
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167221993349
  9. Front Psychol. 2021 ;12 610474
    Abusive Sexting in Adolescence: Prevalence and Characteristics of Abusers and Victims.
    Ricardo Barroso, Eduarda Ramião, Patrícia Figueiredo, Alexandra M Araújo.
      Sexting has been defined as sending, receiving, or forwarding sexually explicit messages, images, or photos to others through digital platforms, and can assume more consensual or more abusive and violent forms. This study aims to explore the prevalence of abusive sexting in Portuguese adolescents and the psychological characteristics of sexting abusers in terms of emotional and behavioral problems, potential markers of psychopathy, childhood trauma and maltreatment, and different forms of aggression. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 4,281 participants, aged 12-20 years (2,264 girls and 2,017 boys), of whom 204 (4.8%) engaged in abusive sexting behaviors and 182 (4.3%) self-identified as being a non-consensual sexting victim. Abusive sexting was more common among boys and middle adolescents, and abusive sexting victims were more likely to be children of single-parent families. Engaging in abusive sexting and being a victim of abusive sexting were also related to behavioral and emotional problems, callousness, experiences of neglect and abuse in childhood, and various forms of aggression. Implications for future research and intervention are discussed.
    Keywords:  adolescence; cyber abuse; sexting behavior; sexual behavior–psychology; sexuality; violence
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.610474
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